Careers education in a comprehensive school: a longitudinal study of pupils' response to an East Midlands school's programme 1977–1979

The project took the form of a survey conducted in Littleover School, Derby by means of a series of questionnaires answered by a whole year group in Years 4 and and nine months after leaving school. It examines the value of the School's Careers Education Programme in helping pupils to make considered choices with regard to courses, careers decisions and Further and Higher Education, by asking pupils about their job ideas and knowledge, sources of information, reasons for subject choices, ambitions, expectations for the future, expected examination results, first experiences of work and opinions regarding the School's careers guidance provision. The results are examined in the light of the developmental theories of careers choice, being the theories upon which Careers Education Programmes are based, and sociological findings concerning the overriding influences of social class and outside-school environment. It was possible to trace the progression/stability of their career ideas and, by comparing a school-banding analysis with a socioeconomic analysis on the basis of four housing zones, to draw some conclusions regarding the School's influence compared with socio-economic factors. A comparison of girls' and boys 'attitudes, aspirations and jobs/further training was also made on the same basis, incorporating information regarding those pupils who entered the 6th Form. Additionally, relationships between school attitudes and performance, types of jobs and attitudes to work were also explored, in order to identify ways in which the facilities could be improved and used more effectively. The final part deals with the changes that have occurred in the labour market since the years of the survey and the response to those changes to be found in the Careers Education curriculum of the School.